The Burden of Belonging

The room didn’t rush to fill the silence after Lyra’s apology. The truth simply sat there—unchanged, unmoved by discomfort.

Lyra kept her hands folded in her lap, nodding as if that alone might steady her. She told herself it was just information—normal, even. Their relationship was new. People revealed themselves in layers, and she was still uncovering her own family history in fragments.

But k